Mechanical toy



Nov. 18, 1924.

1,516,023 L. MARX MECHANICAL 'I 0Y Filed July 21 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v I I/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlIIIIIIIIIIII/III/ufl' IIIIIIIIIII A TTORNE Y L. MARX I MECHANICAL TOY Filed JLgly 21, 1922 2 shoots sho m 2 INVENTOR 0a! ATTORNEY iii Fatented Nov, 18, 1924.

LOUIS MARX, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MECHANICAL TOY.

Application filed July 21, 1922. Serial No. 576,437.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS MARX, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Toys, of which the following is a specification, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to that type of mechanically operated toys in which means are employed for imparting movements to various members in the figures supported on a platform or standard containing the motor mechanism, and the object of my present invention is among other things, to provide an improved toy of this class in which a springimpelled member of a toy human figure is intermittently retracted against the tension of the spring by a motor mechanism, and thereafter suddenly released at a certain point in the normal operation of such motor mechanism. In the present embodiment the figure of a football player is positioned upon a platform in which a hinged leg is normally forwardly impelled by a spring coiled at the hip joint in combination with a spring motor to withdraw such leg against the coil spring and thereafter release such leg when withdrawn to the limit, which is quickly swung forwardly by the spring to kick a ball arranged in the arc of movement of the foot at the end of the hinged leg. My improved toy also embodies an inclined run-way mounted on the platform for automatically feeding a plurality of balls to be successively struck from the kick-off position in the normal operation of the toy.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is shown in the drawings in which Figure 1 is an end elevation showing the toy football player as mounted on the standard, showing the successive movements of the hinged leg in kicking the ball from its position at the lower end of the run-way;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the standard and run-way;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the spring motor mechanism looking from the front and taken on the line 41 of Figure 2;

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are detail views showing different positions of the operating disk connected with the spring motor;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of the lower portion of the toy kicker showing the mounting of the hinged leg; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the spring motor mechanism looking from the side, taken on the line 99 of Figure 2.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several figures.

My improved toy preferably comprises the rectangular box or platform 10 mounted on supports 11 which box 10 contains the spring motor mechanism and upon which. the toy figure 12 and inclined run-way 13 are mounted, as shown in Figuresl. The football player figure 12 comprises the body portion li and left leg 15 which is soldered or otherwise secured to the top of the platform box 10 to support the figure 12; the right leg 16 ismounted on, the stub-shaft 17 pivoted to the leg 15 shown in Figure. 8.. The spring 19 is coiled about the shaft 17, one end being secured to the shaft and the other to the leg 15', such spring 19 normally holding the leg 16 in forward position at the lower end of the run-way 13 as shown in full lines in Figure 1.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the run-way 13 is downwardly inclined and is disposed at right angles to the line of ll'lOVOlDGllt of the swinging leg 16 with a depression 20 and stop 21 at the lower end to properly hold the first hollow ball 22 in kick-off" position. A plurality of balls, 23, 24 and 25, are preferably used and are formed of celluloid or other light material to avoid injuring the toy. These hollow balls are placed at the upper end of the runway 13 and they automatically and successively arrange themselves in kick-oil position at the lower end of the runway 13.

The motor mechanism may be widely varied in construction; in the present em bodiment (Figs. 4 and 9) such mechanism comprises the main spring 26 which rotates the key-operated shaft 27 carrying the gear 28 meshing with the pinion 29 on the shaft 30. The shaft 30 rotates the gear 31 in mesh with the pinion 32 on the shaft 33, controlling the escapeinent- 34 for the gear 35 mounted on the shaft 36, carrying the legoperating revolving disk 37 Referring to Figures 5, 6 and 7 the disk 37 has out therein the segmented slot 38 which holds the slidable pin 39 to which is pivoted the link 40 pivotally secured at 41 to the heel portion 42 of the leg 16. As the disk 37 is revolved in an anti-clockwise direction by the motor mechanism from Figure 5 to Figure 6 position, the pin 39 and link 40 are drawn backwardly through the elongated slot 43 formed in the top of the standard 10, there by causing the hinged leg 16 to be slowly retracted against the tension of the coil spring 19. As the disk 37 rotates from Figure 6 to Figure 7 position, the pin 39 and link 40 pass over center and release the spring 19 which causes the pin and link to move quickly in an opposite direction through the slot 38 from full line to dotted line position (Fig. 7) in the direction of the arrow with the result that the hinged leg 16 is pivotally swung forward with a kicking movement under the tension of the spring 19 and strikes the ball 22 which is impelled forwardly as shown in dotted lines in Fig ure 1. The continued rotation of the disk 37 repeats the retraction and subsequent release of the leg 16 in similar manner, and during the retraction of the leg 16 the second ball 23 rolls downwardly to the lower end of the runway 13 into kick-oil? position.

It will be observed that my improved toy is capable of imparting the desired kicking movement to the leg to propel the balls a considerable distance, thereby providing an attractive toy capable of furnishing to a child an unlimited amount of amusement.

Various changes may be made in the constructi-ons shown without departing from the scope of the claimed invention which is not to be confined to the details of construction herein described and shown in the drawings.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a mechanical toy, a figure having a swinging hinged member, a spring connected therewith normally to press same into its forward position, and a motor mechanism comprising a revoluble disk having a segmental slot, and means slidalole in said slot and connected with said member to retract said member against the tension of said spring and thereafter quickly release same during the continued rotation of said disk.

2. In a mechanical toy, a figure having a swinging hinged member, a spring connected therewith normally to press same into its forward position, a motor mechanism comprising a revoluble disk having a segmental slot formed therein, and an operative connection between said member and disk slidable in said slot to retract said member against the tension of said spring and thereafter release same when said connection passes over center of said disk in the con tinued movement of the latter.

3. In a mechanical toy, a figure having a swinging hinged member, a spring connect ed therewith normally to press same into its forward position, a motor mechanism co1nprising a revoluble disk having a segmental slot formed therein, and a link and pin connection between said member and disk slidable in said slot to retract said member against the tension or said spring and there after release same when said link and pin connection passes over center of said disk in the continued movement of the latter.

LOUIS MARX. 

